A Sneeze and a Sudden Difference
by SamandDianeOTP
Summary: AU version of 'I do, adieu'. An absent Diane makes a huge difference in the events of the night. Will Sam be able to tell Diane about Sumner or does he keep the night's incident a secret? Last chapter's up!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay. I dunno if this sucks, but I've thought a lot about making an AU of 'I do, adieu' so I decided to finally do it. I haven't really looked it through so I hope it's understandable and not to messy! Since I have tests tomorrow I have to turn off my pc now! This is the first chap!  
Hope you like, and always feel free to tell me your opinion!  
(Special note for sunnymadden and samanddiane4ever: Thanks for the support guys! Keep writing, so will I!)**

The sun shining through hole in the curtains indicated that it was the start of a new day.  
Sam sat up in the bed and moved his legs out of the edge. He yawned and then turned to find other part of the bed empty. He then looked at the clock on the table besides him. It was only 8 am. He couldn't quite understand this. It was Saturday and he and Diane weren't meeting at the bar before 3 pm. Maybe she was moving around with things, he thought. She had been doing that like crazy ever since they moved in. And every day she would give one of her speeches on how their future hopefully would be together. It could be tiring to listen to in the long run, but for now he'd accepted it. That was just her way to react on this big step in their relationship. And as long as it was a positive reaction, he didn't bother to interrupt her.  
He heard a noise from outside of the bed room. It sounded like someone had put on the electric kettle. He rose from the bed and strolled out of the bed room. In the kitchen he found Diane, blowing her nose. Turned away from him, she hadn't noticed that he was up. He cleared his throat to get her attention. She turned a little startled.  
"Oh, Sam. I'm sorry if I woke you up," she apologized and blew another time.  
"You got a cold?" he asked as he moved toward her standing point.  
"Yeah," she nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, but I don't know if I'll be able to waitress today."  
"That's alright. I think we can handle it," Sam said referring to Carla and Woody.  
"You're sure?"  
"Yeah- yeah," he replied as he removed a tear from her cheek.  
She smiled and closed her eyes as he leaned in and gently kissed her forehead.  
"Well, how about I make some breakfast and take care my sick fiancé, huh?"  
"That would be lovely," she murmured as she leaned in for an embrace.

The day started out so nicely, but within the evening a certain person would make the day take a whole other turn. And the name of that person couldn't be any other than Sumner Sloane.

"What do want, Sumner?" Sam asked clearly frustrated by the man's presence.  
Sumner, ignoring Sam's harshness, strolled around the pool table.  
"First of all I'd like to congratulate you with your engagement. The bride-to-be wouldn't be around, would she?" Sumner asked, touching one of the balls on the table.  
What should he have expected from this man? Showing up here only months since their engagement became official.  
"No, she's not here today. Why, you want me deliver a message to her?"  
"No, no," Sumner murmured. "I just wanted to…tell her something. Something that I would like to tell her personally."  
You lost her years ago, you've had your chance, now get the heck outta here, Sam thought as he kept a hard stare on him.  
"Well, she's not coming in today so either you tell me now or you'll just have to keep it for yourself," Sam forced.  
"I can certainly come by another day, Sam-"  
"I'm not a complete jerk, Sumner. I can read between the lines."  
"Oh really? Well if that's the case then why are you so worried about me telling her about her novel?"  
"Novel?"  
"Yes. As it happens, I found a publisher who thinks one of her novels might be publishable."  
"R-really?"  
"Yes, the only problem is that it isn't finished," Sumner said as he made eye contact with Sam.  
"Wait, when did she give you one of her novels?"  
"She didn't. I've had it lying around for a long time. Well, what? About 5 years' time now."  
"What do you get out of this?" Sam asked interested.  
"Ah, nothing but to help an old friend. Besides, I think it's her choice, not yours."  
"I haven't made any choice. I will leave the choice to her. I will tell her that a publisher might be interested in one of her unfinished novels, and if she's interested in finishing it, she can contact you."  
"Excellent," Sumner smirked.  
"I can't see why you needed to tell her that personally. Something you've left out on purpose?" Sam asked intense.  
"Not at all, my friend. But you know how this works. The third person will never receive the exact message the first one delivered," Sumner frowned as he put extra pressure on 'exact'.  
Sam just stared at Sumner in disgust. He didn't see him as a potential threat right now, but if he got involved with Diane personally before he had spoken to her properly then he could be dangerous.  
"Well then, here's my phone number," Sumner said and handled Sam a piece of paper.  
"Goodbye for now," Sumner said as he left the pool room and the bar.  
Goodbye forever, Sam hoped.


	2. Chapter 2

**If this stinks, I apologize. I have no idea where I'm actually going with this right now.  
But I hope I won't be too 'out of character'. Thanks for your support anyway!**

The drive back home seemed to be like forever. Sam's thoughts constantly returned to what Sumner said. _It's her choice, not yours._ Sam knew that Sumner was playing games with him. The only question was how he should react to them? Sam knew that even if he chose not to tell Diane about Sumner's visit then Sumner would find another way to contact her. He had him right where he wanted him. He heard Sumner's voice in his head saying _your move._

When he finally reached their house, he parked the car, turned it off and went inside.  
He found the living room dark, only lighted up by a single candle nearby the coach.  
He walked softly toward the coach. There he found Diane, swept in a blanket and asleep.  
He made a quiet chuckle. Even though the blanket looked quite cozy from Sam's point of view, Diane appeared to be freezing. Since Sam had no idea where to find another blanket, he took of his jacket and softly placed it around her body. By this she moved in her sleep. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead and heard her take a deep breath.  
He watched her for a bit but feeling the need for some warmth himself made him turn to the kitchen to make some coffee. As the machine took care of making the coffee, Sam wandered around. How should he approach this up-coming conversation? he wondered.  
He honestly had no idea how she would react. If Sumner hadn't been the beast behind this, he would be sure that she'd be thrilled by the news. But now since it **was** Sumner maybe that wouldn't be the case. Or so he hoped.  
He had to admit that he was worried about letting Diane put her faith in this man.  
Sam knew that Sumner had alternate motives in mind. He just didn't know which. But he feared that it would be some that would put an end to their relationship. An end to all of it. Once and for all. Either Sumner tried to win her back _again _or he just liked to see them suffer.  
Hearing footsteps, Sam turned. In the door frame, with a red nose and a blanket around her, stood Diane.  
"Hey," he said.  
"Hey," she said and came closer.  
"Had a nice nap?"  
"Very nice, indeed," she smiled.  
She leaned in for a hug and he opened his arms. The moment he felt her head near his chest, it beat faster. Feeling her, smelling her, gave him the shivers. To imagine that he would lose that feeling he had when he was with her was impossible.  
"Something wrong?" she asked and looked up.  
"No, not at all," he lied.  
"Were you busy today," she said, referring to the bar.  
"No, actually it was quite calm."  
"So you did fine without me, I assume?"  
If he took this sentence out of context the answer would be 'no'.  
"Uhm, sweetheart…There's something- something I need to tell you," he murmured.  
Growing concern Diane steeped away so that she could look him in the eyes.  
"What is it?"  
"Sumner steeped in to the bar this evening."  
Trying to cover a gasp, she swallowed hard.  
"What did _he_ want?" she asked, both concerned and bitter.  
"Apparently he's sent in one of your unfinished novels to an editor who thinks it has a change of getting published," he said as he searched for any reactions in her eyes.  
She stood still with open mouth, staring at him.  
"W-why?" she asked.  
"I don't know, honey."  
"But, that means," she started "that I have to finish a novel I haven't given a glare for 5 years?"  
"Yeah, I guess so."  
"Huh," she said.  
"Aren't you- aren't you…happy?"  
"Of course!" she said as her intense look turned into a smile and she ran into his arms.  
"I thought so," Sam mumbled.  
"Aren't you?" she asked.  
"Of course, of course!"  
"Then what's bothering you?"  
He stayed silent which apparently was enough answer for her.  
"Sumner," she murmured.  
"Look, hon," he said as he took her by her shoulders.  
"I know this means a lot to you so I won't hold you back. We'll just postpone the wedding for a while and-"  
"Who said anything about postponing the wedding," she asked mad.  
"Diane, this is a shot you have to take, clearly. The wedding will only distract you."  
"No it won't."  
"Diane we will just…Wait…Until it's done. Then we can talk wedding stuff."  
"I can't see why we can't get married before then," she said dryly.  
"Because you have to do this first!"  
"Give me one good reason why."  
"Because I want to know if this is what you really want!"  
The house went all quiet. None of them said anything for minutes.  
"Is that what you think? This is a test? A test that will tell you if I really want to be with you if I have the change choose something else? If I have the change to be a writer? A change for me to reach success?"  
He didn't answer.  
"I thought you knew by now…That I wouldn't…That you—"

She stopped the sentence. Then she turned and left the kitchen and him behind.  
Somewhere in the house he heard a door slam.  
_You win, Sumner. I don't want to play your game anymore.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

He walked out of the kitchen with an empty feeling inside and hundreds of thoughts in his mind minutes after Diane had left.  
In the end of the other hall he saw light coming out from under the bedroom door.  
He wondered how much harm he had done. In which way he had hurt her. What had hurt the most?  
Was it when he told her that she wasn't capable of handling the novel and the wedding at the same time? Was it when he told her that what she really wanted was success and not him if she got the change? Which words had had the worst effect? He didn't know. He only knew that every single word had hurt her in ways, he had promised himself that he'd never hurt her ever again.  
Now he had, and he didn't know how he could make her forgive him. He couldn't even forgive himself. He had judged her based on silly reasons and personal emotions.  
He kept asking himself why and the only answer he came up with was that he was afraid of losing her. Losing her like he had years ago. If she hadn't returned, he didn't know what would have happened. He had to confess that if she hadn't been such a forgiving and caring person as she was and hadn't returned to help him, he didn't think he would have been here today. He had never told her exactly how much she meant to him. Not even now.  
He had begun to make use of the word 'love', but he was beginning to think that 'love' wasn't enough. 'Love' wasn't enough to describe how he felt about her. She wasn't just his love, she was his life. His one and only. There was no one else that mattered. As long as he still had her, he would enjoy every single day. And if he lost her, he'd lose the joy of living. She had brought him that all those years ago.

They were so close to reach happiness together. The only thing missing was the 'I do's'. The words that would assure him, both of them, that they were each other's forever. Nothing would make him happier.  
But now, now Sumner was in the picture. And with his presence in their lives, nothing was for sure.

In his head, Sam would storm into the bedroom and embrace her, hold her so close, that she would never slip away. But in reality, Sam stared at the door with a sigh.  
He heard Diane's voice in his head.  
_Open up.  
_He knew, he had to more often. And he tried. He really did. But the tougher things were, the harder it was for him. To open up is to be vulnerable. And to be vulnerable was Sam's greatest weakness. It seemed that every time he had really opened up to someone, they would always hurt him.  
But he had to trust her. After the all these years, he had to. To be honest, with Diane it was the exact opposite. The times he got hurt, was the times, he was afraid to open up to her. And the times he opened up, was the times he felt most relieved. She had never taken advantage of him when he had truly opened up to her. She had always been pleased and accepted it without doing any harm.  
She was different. She never hurt anyone on purpose. He could learn a lot from her.

He caught some noises from inside the bedroom. It sounded like she was talking to someone.  
He wondered if she cried. Boy, did this thought make him feel even worse.  
As much as he wanted to comfort her, he left her alone, thinking it was for the best.  
He entered the living room. He wandered around in the quite empty room. So many things needed to be put up. Books and those sorts of things so it would look like a living room that was taken use of.  
On the floor by the couch he spotted some piece of paper. He bent down and picked it up.  
On it, it said: _My Wedding vows.  
_It was Diane's handwriting. _  
_He turned it around and saw how she had nearly written a whole page of vows.  
Some of them popped to his eyes.  
_  
I promise you that I'll be by your side through all eternity, and that my love for you only will grow stronger every minute, I spent with you.  
_  
He read the whole page, and even though, he tried to hide it, his eyes were filled with tears.  
Every single world made him feel like he was special. He was now sure that he meant everything to her. All the times he had doubted her intentions were a waste of time. She was pure of heart. He of all people should know that. And he did.

She meant the world to him. He had to tell her that. Even if it meant that he'd be more vulnerable than ever.  
What he had done to deserve this woman, only God knew.  
He _**was**_afraid to lose her, still. Because of what he'd known all along.  
She was too good to be a wife of a bartender. She was too good to ever have become a cocktail waitress in his bar. She was too good to be a part of his life.  
But he knew now, that instead of constantly worrying about losing her, he had to enjoy every single moment, he had with her. He had to make himself more worthy.  
The least thing he could do was to tell her how he felt. That's the thing she always wanted from him. She should have that. She was his, as he was hers.  
He would make sure that it would stay that way. No one, not even Sumner, would be able to change that fact.

He rose from the couch and walked straight to the bedroom door. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello people! Here's the last chapter of this AU "A Sneeze and a sudden Difference". I hope as always that it match your expectations. I thank every one of you who has been so kind to me! Your support means a lot!  
PS: I've had some trouble with the space between the lines. I hope it isn't too annoying. I'm trying to find a solution.**

Well, here it is!  
Enjoy!

It didn't take long before he reached the door. Even though he was determent to talk things straight with her right here and now, he hesitated with opening the door. He wasn't completely sure how to approach her yet again. He had no idea exactly how mad she was at him and what exact words that would make up for it. But he knew he had to find out when he was beside her. So with no further hesitating, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.  
She sat on the edge of the bed, in darkness, with his jacket around her torso. She didn't react to his presence. He moved closer to the bed and indeed, she had been crying. Her eyes were red and she kept snuffling. He wasn't aware the snuffling was caused by their argument or her cold.  
She kept a straight look on her own feet. Sam found himself unable to break the silence between them. As everyone knew, words weren't his strong point. But he would give it a try when he saw an opening for it. Instead he sat down beside her for now, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, which apparently made her loose up a bit.

"Hey," he whispered as he tightened his grip around her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for what I said. I shouldn't have judged you like that."

"No, you shouldn't," she sobbed.

"And I'm sorry I did. Deep down I know you would never do such thing. Just…Leave me behind.  
I just wanted you to know that you have a choice that you have to make. And I only want what's best for you. I want you to make the right decision. The one that would make you happy."

"I know, Sam. That's not why I'm mad. I'm mad because you thought that getting a book published would mean more to me than you. Than us. Than what we have."

"I'm not saying that's the truth, I'm just insecure that I won't make you-"

He paused. She turned her head and glared at him.

"That you won't what?"

"That I won't…make you happy."

She looked broken. As if she actually felt sad _for him_.

"Sam, is that- is that what you're afraid of? That you're not enough for me?"

"It has always been like that. I mean, admit it, you could do so much better if you wanted to."

"But that's the problem, Sam. I don't _**want **_to. You mean everything to me. Without you, I wouldn't be me. You're a part of me, Sam. An important part of me. One I will never want to lose. One I will never lose."

"That's the thing, Diane. If I ever lost you, I would be heartbroken. There would be no joy in living. You know that. You've seen it."

By this, tears ran down her cheeks and a weak smile appeared.

"I mean it when I say that you mean everything to me too, but I would rather let go of you than holding you back from your dreams. Just knowing that you'd be happy, well, that would make a part of me happy too."

Her cheeks were all wet by now.

"Sam Malone, this is why I wouldn't ever leave you again. I finally know by now that I mean as much to you as you do to me. After years where I've been doubtful, I finally know for sure.  
Which mean you should know that I'd never be able to live a life without you."

She always made him feel that way. _Loved_. No matter the condition of their relationship, he knew that she would always care in some way. No matter how bad he had hurt her, she would.  
That's what he'd gotten to know by becoming engaged to her. He had finally realized that all he ever should have done to make her become his was to tell her how he _really _felt.

"You know…I told you this before, but, yeah, I guess it doesn't hurt to tell you one more time.  
I really felt something special the first time I saw you. I saw 'hope'. Hope, that if I wanted to, I could turn my life around with you. Have a second chance at being happy.  
I know that we don't discuss our previous relationship, but it still means a lot to me. Everytime I look back at how things were, I look at us now and think about, how much things have changed. We've both learned from our mistakes. People always judged us for our differences, and they probably always will, but I don't care. As long as I know that we're happy."

"And we are, Sam," she smiled at him. "You know why?" she asked tender leaning closer.

"Why?" he whispered.

In a slow pace she took his hand and put it on her breast just as she put her other hand on his.  
They both felt each other's fast beating hearts.

"Because we love each other," she whispered.

"Yes, we do," he barely said before their lips touched.

When the kiss broke there was a pause where their foreheads touched and only inches of air parted their lips.

"I've already made my decision," she whispered and opened her eyes and right into his.

"And?" he said.

"I called Sumner just after I left you to tell him that I wasn't interested."

"But you were," Sam said.

"Not under these circumstances."

"What if you never get an opportunity like this again?"

"Then that's the way it is."

"No, no it isn't," Sam said as he broke their embrace and rose from the bed.

"Call Sumner and tell him that you changed your mind."

"No, Sam, I already-"

"Diane, we'll find a way," he said and took her around the shoulders.

She looked him in the eyes.

"Alright then," she murmured. "I'll tell him that I'm interested _**after **_our honeymoon."

"But what if he don't accept that?"

"Then I'm absolutely uninterested."

"Are you sure?" he tried.

"I don't want this to interfere with the wedding. I want us to enjoy this in peace and quiet."

"But what if he wants a date for when you can begin?"

"He will get one."

Sam looked confused.  
"Sam, don't you think Cheers would do nice for a wedding ceremony?"

"You- you want the wedding to be held at the bar?"

"Why not? It's our place, won't you say?"

"I thought you wanted it like a princess wedding in a beautiful church or something?"

"I changed my mind. I want to be a little 'spontaneous'. Something out of the ordinary."

"But what day did you have in mind?"

"Well, how long do you think it'll take the guys to make the place look like there's about to be held a wedding?"

"I don't know. A day? Are you really ready for this?"

"I've been for a long time, Mr. Malone."

He took a long and serious glare at her, but her smile only convinced him that this was the way it should be.

"I'll call the guys and tell them that they have to pick out a nice outfit for tomorrow."

"That would be lovely," she chuckled.

"Alright. I'll see you in a bit, Mrs. Malone."

"Ah-ah! It's still Chambers," she teased.

"Not for long," he said and kissed her on the forehead. "I thought, you should get used to it," he winked and left the bedroom.

She sat on the edge of the bed and ran her hand up and down his baseball jacket.

"_Mrs. Malone_," she whispered to herself and she couldn't help but smile.

**THE END**

_**Not sure if I should do a follow-up on this. What do you guys think? Should I leave it as it is or would you like to see a continuation? Thanks for your help!**_


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